President’s Message

Dear Members

We are all excited about the imminent opening of the new Michael J. Ruane courthouse in Salem. It will house the Superior Court, the Salem District Court, the Housing Court, Juvenile Court, and the Law Library. We are especially proud of the fact that the numerous pieces of art and historical work owned by the Bar will be displayed in the Library and throughout the courthouse.

As you may have noticed, there have been quite a few changes to the judicial system throughout the state. Budget constraints and downturns in the economy have caused innumerable shortages and delays in the efficient administration of justice. These changes have even led to court closings and a reduction in the number of hours that the courts are open to the public. Perhaps we can help the courts by streamlining our efforts and ensuring that our filings make it easy as possible for all.? With that goal in mind, I spoke with several clerks from our various court divisions, and they have uniformly made the following suggestions:

1. If you have an unusual case or filing, please make sure to call the clerk in advance of your filing to verify that you are using the correct forms, procedures, and remitting the correct filing fee. They may otherwise be forced to send it back and it will take both the court and your client’s case additional time to file it twice with corrections.

2. Please don’t send notices or any court filings to the court by facsimile transmission unless requested to do so. Although I am sure that we think we are being helpful, this fax document actually doubles the work for the court when you inevitably follow it up with a hard copy document thereafter. Only mailings by first class mail are allowed.

3. Criminal case dates should only be continued for a good reason and not as a matter of course. Multiple dates for pre-trial conferences and compliance & election dates really duplicate the amount of amount of work on each case and should only be requested as needed for good cause.

4. If a case is continued, please make sure to inform your client. Not all clients are easily reachable by phone, but individuals apparently regularly appear in court for scheduled dates without being told that the matter had been put off.

5. If you have a need for an interpreter at a court event, please be sure to inform the court in advance so that one may be arranged. This is especially true if language assistance is

needed for a language or dialect that is not commonly heard in that court.

6. If another attorney is covering a case for you please make sure to tell him or her if the matter has been continued or other action has been taken prior to the date.

The one common theme that I repeatedly heard from all the courts is that it is really important to avoid duplicity. Much of their work can be streamlined and avoided if the request or filing is only made once and not several times. I should also mention that several of the court clerks really had no particular suggestions for improvement as they felt that the lawyers in their sessions were doing a great job!

Remember that quote about walking a mile in another person’s shoes (or high heels) before you judge them? With that thought in mind, the criminal court clerks in our Lawrence District Court have invited attorneys to volunteer and sit with their clerks for a few morning hours so that they can themselves see what the court goes through in each case. Perhaps it would be easier for us to understand how we could make their job easier if we more fully comprehend what they go through on a daily basis. If you are interested, please contact me personally and I will gladly arrange for your “behind the scenes” session.

My next newsletter will contain respectful suggestions for the court on how to make our lives and practices easier! Please send me your constructive suggestions at or feel free to call me at any time to discuss your thoughts and concerns.

Thank you once again for being a member of our Bar, and we especially look forward to seeing you at our Holiday Party on December 1^st . It is always the best event of the season!

Until next time,

Wendy Olinsky